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King left Decca in 1970 and and for the following two years produced a number of mostly minor hits for a number of bands, which were often King performing pseudonymously.<ref name= AllMusic/> These included "Let It All Hang Out" (a cover of the 1967 track by ]), "It Only Takes A Minute" (a cover of ]' track) as One Hundred Ton and a Feather, "]" as Sakkarin, "Loop di Love" as Shag, "]" (a cover of the song by ]), "Lazybones", "It's The Same Old Song" (originally by ]) as The Weathermen, "]" as Nemo, "]" as The Piglets, and "Leap Up And Down And Wave Your Knickers in the Air" for St Cecilia.<ref>{{cite news |title=Who is Jonathan King? |url=http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/nov/24/6 |newspaper=The Guardian |date=24 November 2000 |accessdate=19 December 2013}}</ref><ref name="betts">{{cite book| first= Graham| last= Betts| year=2004| title= Complete UK Hit Singles 1952-2004| edition= 1st|publisher= Collins| location= London| isbn= 0-00-717931-6| page=429}}</ref> King left Decca in 1970 and and for the following two years produced a number of mostly minor hits for a number of bands, which were often King performing pseudonymously.<ref name= AllMusic/> These included "Let It All Hang Out" (a cover of the 1967 track by ]), "It Only Takes A Minute" (a cover of ]' track) as One Hundred Ton and a Feather, "]" as Sakkarin, "Loop di Love" as Shag, "]" (a cover of the song by ]), "Lazybones", "It's The Same Old Song" (originally by ]) as The Weathermen, "]" as Nemo, "]" as The Piglets, and "Leap Up And Down And Wave Your Knickers in the Air" for St Cecilia.<ref>{{cite news |title=Who is Jonathan King? |url=http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/nov/24/6 |newspaper=The Guardian |date=24 November 2000 |accessdate=19 December 2013}}</ref><ref name="betts">{{cite book| first= Graham| last= Betts| year=2004| title= Complete UK Hit Singles 1952-2004| edition= 1st|publisher= Collins| location= London| isbn= 0-00-717931-6| page=429}}</ref>


In September 1972, he set up his own record label, UK Records, <ref name=BillboardSept1972>{{cite news |title=King Forms U.K. Records |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=4icEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA32 |newspaper=Billboard |date=9 September 1972}}</ref> which was distributed by Decca.<ref name= AllMusic/> UK Records' most significant signing was ],.<ref name= AllMusic/> whom he also named.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/10cc.asp |title=10CC |work=Snopes.com}} citing Dolgins, Adam. ''Rock Names: From ABBA to ZZ Top''. Carol Publishing, 1998, pp. 254–255.</ref> Others included ], ], ] and ]. In 1975, King had a major hit with his cover of the ] "]" and, around the same time, he became one of the original backers of the '']''. <ref name= AllMusic/> In September 1972, he set up his own record label, UK Records, <ref name=BillboardSept1972>{{cite news |title=King Forms U.K. Records |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=4icEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA32 |newspaper=Billboard |date=9 September 1972}}</ref> which was distributed by Decca.<ref name= AllMusic/> UK Records' most significant signing was ].<ref name= AllMusic/> whom he also named.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/10cc.asp |title=10CC |work=Snopes.com}} citing {{cite book |title=Rock Names: From ABBA to ZZ Top |last=Dolgins |first=Adam |year=1998 |isbn=0806520469 |pages=254-255}</ref> Others included ], ], ] and ]. In 1975, King had a major hit with his cover of the ] "]" and, around the same time, he became one of the original backers of the '']''. <ref name= AllMusic/>


Between 1965 and 1979, King had 17 hits in the ] under a variety of pseudonyms and his own name, five of which made the Top 10.<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">Roberts, David. ''British Hit Singles & Albums''. Guinness World Records Limited, 19th edition, 2006, p. 302.</ref> In April 1978, standing under his real name as a Royalist candidate he polled 2,350 votes (5.3%) in the ]. '']'' reported he sold over 40 million records as a singer during his active career.<ref name=Ronson/> Between 1965 and 1979, King had 17 hits in the ] under a variety of pseudonyms and his own name, five of which made the Top 10.<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">Roberts, David. ''British Hit Singles & Albums''. Guinness World Records Limited, 19th edition, 2006, p. 302.</ref> In April 1978, standing under his real name as a Royalist candidate he polled 2,350 votes (5.3%) in the ]. '']'' reported he sold over 40 million records as a singer during his active career.<ref name=Ronson/>

Revision as of 12:29, 3 January 2014

Jonathan King
photographKing in 2007
BornKenneth George King
(1944-12-06) 6 December 1944 (age 80)
London, England
EducationM.A. (Cantab)
Alma materUniversity of Cambridge
Occupation(s)Record producer, writer, impresario, singer, songwriter, film maker
Known forDiscovery of Genesis, Bay City Rollers, 10CC, The Rocky Horror Show
Notable work(As singer, songwriter, or both): "Everyone's Gone to the Moon" (1965), "It's Good News Week" (1965), "Johnny Reggae" (1971), "Sugar, Sugar" (1971), "The Sun Has Got His Hat On" (1971), "Lazybones" (1971), "Hooked On A Feeling" (1971), "Loop di Love" (1972), "Una Paloma Blanca" (1975), "It Only Takes a Minute" (1976),"One For You, One For Me" (1978) "Gloria" (1979).
Parent(s)Jimmy King (died June 1954) and Ailsa (died 24 August 2007)
RelativesJamie and Andy (brothers)
AwardsBritish Phonographic Industry Man of the Year, 1997
Websitewww.kingofhits.com

Jonathan King (born Kenneth George King; 6 December 1944) is an English singer-songwriter, impresario, record producer, writer and film-maker.

King first came to public notice when, as an undergraduate at the University of Cambridge in 1965, he wrote and sang "Everyone's Gone to the Moon," which became an international best-seller. He went on to become a media entrepreneur, discovering and producing material for a number of artists, including Genesis, whom he signed up as producer in 1967, giving them their name and producing their first album, From Genesis to Revelation. He was a "talent spotter" for Decca Records and created his own record label in 1972, UK Records, and worked with 10cc and the Bay City Rollers.

He also became known for a string of 1970s hits, sometimes credited to pseudonymous groups, such as "Una Paloma Blanca", "It Only Takes A Minute", "Johnny Reggae", "The Sun Has Got His Hat On", "Loop di Love" and "Sugar Sugar". Between the 1970s and 1990s he regularly worked as a presenter of British television programmes including Top of the Pops and its spinoff series, Entertainment USA. He also hosted several early Brit Awards ceremonies.

King was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2001, after being found guilty of the sexual assault of five youths aged 14 to 16 between 1983 and 1989. He was released on parole in 2005, having served half of his sentence.

Early life and education

King was born in London and was the first child of an American-born father and English-born mother. His father was the managing director of a textile firm who died when King was nine. The family moved to Surrey, and King and his two brothers, James and Anthony, were raised in the village of Ewhurst near Dorking. He was sent to Stoke House boarding school in Seaford, Sussex and later Charterhouse, in Godalming, Surrey - both private schools. He took six months off to travel round the world before taking up a place at Trinity College, Cambridge. During his travels he met a number of pop managers, including Brian Epstein, manager of The Beatles, who were on tour in Hawaii; Derek Taylor, the Beatles' press officer; Peter Asher of Peter and Gordon; and Tommy LiPuma, a record producer. He recorded several tracks with producer Joe Meek but they were not released. He graduated from Cambridge in 1966 and has an M.A. in English literature.

1960s–1970s

Photograph by Allan Warren, 1969

While still an undergraduate, King wrote and sang his hit, "Everyone's Gone to the Moon" which reached number 4 in the UK charts and number 17 in America. Later, he wrote and produced "It's Good News Week" by Hedgehoppers Anonymous, which was a top five hit in the UK and reached number 50 in America.

In 1967, shortly after leaving University, he was given his own television show, Good Evening; I'm Jonathan King, which made him a familiar figure to the British public. King was recruited by Sir Edward Lewis, the founder of Decca Records, to be his personal assistant and "talent spotter". He became Lewis's adviser on new pop music. It was in this role that King discovered and signed for Decca in late 1967 the band that was to become Genesis. During a visit to his old school, Charterhouse, a friend of one of the band members handed him a recording by the band. King decided to produce them, choosing their name, Genesis, to mark the start of his production career. He produced their first album, From Genesis to Revelation, which was a flop at the time, partly because shops placed it in their religious music sections. Bassist Mike Rutherford later commented that despite his faults (a reference to King's later conviction for sex offences) King had given the band an opportunity to record which was, at that time, hard to come by for an amateur band. Genesis parted with King after the first album and, outside of his influence, changed its musical style to become one of the most important bands of the 1970s and onwards.

King left Decca in 1970 and and for the following two years produced a number of mostly minor hits for a number of bands, which were often King performing pseudonymously. These included "Let It All Hang Out" (a cover of the 1967 track by The Hombres), "It Only Takes A Minute" (a cover of Tavares' track) as One Hundred Ton and a Feather, "Sugar, Sugar" as Sakkarin, "Loop di Love" as Shag, "Hooked on a Feeling" (a cover of the song by B J Thomas), "Lazybones", "It's The Same Old Song" (originally by Four Tops) as The Weathermen, "The Sun Has Got His Hat On" as Nemo, "Johnny Reggae" as The Piglets, and "Leap Up And Down And Wave Your Knickers in the Air" for St Cecilia.

In September 1972, he set up his own record label, UK Records, which was distributed by Decca. UK Records' most significant signing was 10cc. whom he also named. Others included Terry Dactyl and the Dinosaurs, Roy C, The First Class and Lobo. In 1975, King had a major hit with his cover of the George Baker "Una Paloma Blanca" and, around the same time, he became one of the original backers of the The Rocky Horror Show.

Between 1965 and 1979, King had 17 hits in the UK Singles Chart under a variety of pseudonyms and his own name, five of which made the Top 10. In April 1978, standing under his real name as a Royalist candidate he polled 2,350 votes (5.3%) in the Epsom and Ewell by-election. The Guardian reported he sold over 40 million records as a singer during his active career.

1980s–1990s

King in 1982

During 1980 and 1981, King presented a daily talk show on New York's WMCA radio from 10–12 weekday mornings, and regularly reported from the U.S. on Top of the Pops. A spinoff series, Entertainment USA was broadcast on BBC 2. He was associate producer of the youth TV show No Limits. He hosted the ITV programme Ultra Quiz during 1983. He wrote a page in The Sun for eight years called "Bizarre USA". He wrote features in other newspapers and magazines such as the Daily Mail and The Sunday Times. He also wrote two novels, Bible Two and The Booker Prize Winner. He continued some music projects, including the rock group "Gogmagog".

King (left) with Jon Bon Jovi

King wrote and hosted the BRIT Awards for the BBC in 1987 and produced them from 1990 to 1992. On the day Margaret Thatcher left No 10 Downing Street in 1990, he released "We Can't Let Maggie Go" under the name The Faithful on Chrysalis Records; it did not chart. He produced "A Song for Europe", the BBC quest for a Eurovision Song Contest entrant, from 1995.

In 1993, he founded The Tip Sheet, a magazine promoting unknown and unsigned musical acts, which closed in 2002 to be replaced by an online message board.

In 1997, he was awarded the British Phonographic Industry Man of the Year Award with a message of support from the then-prime minister Tony Blair for his "important contribution to one of this country’s great success stories."

From 2000 onwards

Conviction and aftermath

In 2000 King was investigated by police in relation to allegations of sexual offences committed against boys since the 1970s. The investigation had been prompted by one of his alleged victims contacting the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) in May of that year, initially in relation to alleged offences committed by another celebrity. The complainant subsequently alleged that King had tried to assault him in the early 1970s when the complainant was a teenager. NCIS handed the investigation over to Surrey Police who found a second complainant who made similar allegations. The police interviewed King in November, and he made an appearance on television denying "these absurd allegations". As a result of this appearance 27 men came forward to make similar allegations. Surrey Police subsequently revealed that their investigation, covering the years 1969 to 1989, had found that King had approached 10,000 to 20,000 boys ostensibly to question them for "research", which the police said was "a device to get to the boys and start speaking to them and grooming them for his purposes." The investigation led to King being charged and put on trial at the Old Bailey.

King denied the charges but, in September 2001, he was found guilty of committing six offences of indecent assault, buggery and attempted buggery against five boys aged between 14 and 16 during the 1980s. Two months later, he was sentenced to 7 years imprisonment for those offences. In sentencing him, Judge David Paget, QC, said "You used your fame and success to attract adolescent and impressionable boys. You then abused the trust they and their parents placed in you." Shortly before he was sentenced he was acquitted, in a separate case, of similar offences. The alleged victim in the latter case had said he had consented to sex with King and had been older at the time than he had initially told police, meaning that a statutory limitation period barring prosecution applied. After his conviction, it was said by the police that King may have been responsible for abusing hundreds of boys over a thirty year period.

King has always maintained that he is innocent of all the offences and has blamed his conviction on an "incredibly unfair" legal system and "false allegations" generated as a result of media publicity. He has claimed that he is a victim of a miscarriage of justice arising from the conduct of the press and the police. Journalists Richard Stott and Lynn Barber have been sympathetic to his cause, although neither have said that they believe he did not commit the criminal offences.

King served the first five months of his sentence in Belmarsh Prison, but was then sent to the "vulnerable prisoners" wing allocated to sex offenders and corrupt police officers at Maidstone Prison. In 2003, the Court of Appeal rejected his application to hear an appeal of both his conviction and length of sentence. He was released from Maidstone on parole in March 2005, after serving half his sentence. He appealed his case to the Criminal Cases Review Commission and the European Court of Human Rights, but without success. King remains on the Sex Offenders Register and is prohibited from working with anyone under the age of 18.

King has maintained an interest in prison issues by continuing to write a monthly column for Inside Time, the national newspaper for prisoners, which he began while he was in prison. In October 2011, then BBC Director-General Mark Thompson apologised to Jonathan King, following the removal of King's performance of "It Only Takes a Minute" from a 1976 episode of Top of the Pops that was repeated on BBC Four. Thompson stated: "We accept that this should not have happened and we would like to apologise for any upset this caused." King had accused the BBC of a "Stalinist" revision of history.

In January 2012, King applied to be a "core participant" at the Leveson Inquiry into the culture, ethics and practice of the press and gave evidence to the Inquiry in support of his application. However, his application was rejected. In April 2012, he was featured at length in a front cover article for The Independent on Sunday Review magazine covering his conviction for sex offences. "I believe," King was quoted as saying, "in pursuing my own morality. That is all I have ever stuck by. It is my own morality that really matters."

Creative output

Since his release from prison, King has been unable to work in the mainstream media and he has been limited to self-producing feature films and LPs, and self-publishing books. His creative output has been described as being, at times, "a primal scream of rage". In 2007, King posted a song on the internet which claimed that serial killer Harold Shipman had been a victim of the media. In May 2008, King posted for free download on the internet his 96-minute film, Vile Pervert: The Musical. The Telegraph described it as an attempted justification of the events that led to his conviction and a "bizarre home-made film" about a television celebrity who was subjected to "malicious abuse allegations, in a fictional case that King clearly intends to represent his own demise".

King has published two books, his autobiography - 65 My Life So Far - and a novel under the pseudonym "Rex Kenny". In addition to Vile Pervert: the Musical, King has made two films: Me Me Me (2011), which premiered in London's West End and screened at Eurovision in Düsseldorf and at the Cannes Film Festival, and The Pink Marble Egg (2013), which was screened in Cannes during, but not as part of, the film festival.

Discography

Singles

Year Title UK Singles Chart Credited to
1965 "Everyone's Gone to the Moon" #4 Jonathan King
1970 "Let It All Hang Out" #26 Jonathan King
1971 "It's the Same Old Song" #19 Weathermen
1971 "Sugar Sugar" #12 Sakkarin
1971 "Lazy Bones" #23 Jonathan King
1971 "Johnny Reggae" #3 The Piglets
1971 "Hooked on a Feeling" #23 Jonathan King
1972 "Flirt!" #22 Jonathan King
1972 "Loop di Love" #4 Shag
1974 "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" #29 Bubblerock
1975 "Una Paloma Blanca (White Dove)" #5 Jonathan King
1975 "Chick-a-Boom (Don't Ya Jes Love It)" #36 53rd and 3rd featuring the Sound of Shag
1976 "In the Mood" #46 Sound 9418
1976 "It Only Takes a Minute" #9 One Hundred Ton and a Feather
1978 "One for You, One for Me" #29 Jonathan King
1978 "Lick A Smurp for Christmas (All Fall Down)" #58 Father Abraphart and The Smurps
1979 "You're the Greatest Lover" #67 Jonathan King
1979 "Gloria" #65 Jonathan King

References

  1. ^ "The rise and fall of a pop tsar". The Guardian. London. Press Association. 29 March 2005.
  2. Nite, Norm N. Rock On. Crowell 1978, p. 262.
  3. ^ Welch, Chris. The Complete Guide to the Music of Genesis. Omnibus Press, 1995, pp. 1–3.
  4. Ronson, Jon (1 December 2001). "The fall of a pop impresario" The Guardian (London).
  5. ^ "Jonathan King jailed for child sex abuse". The Guardian (London). 21 November 2001.
  6. Barber, Lynn. "The King and I". The Observer (London). 20 October 2002.
  7. ^ "King loses appeal bid". BBC News. 24 January 2003.
  8. Jonathan King. "King of Hits". Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  9. For the brothers' names, see 65 My Life So Far, p. 6 and p. 10. Retrieved 12 June 2010.
  10. ^ Bruce Eder. "Jonathan King". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  11. ^ "Jonathan King (IV)". IMDb. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
  12. Larkin, Colin (2002). The Virgin Encyclopedia Of 70s Music. p. 217. ISBN 1852279478.
  13. Hardy, Phil; Laing, Dave (1995). Da Capo companion to twentieth-century popular music. p. 520. ISBN 0306806401.
  14. Holm-Hudson, Kevin (2008). Genesis and "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway". p. 23. ISBN 0754661393.
  15. ^ Bruce Eder. "Genesis". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
  16. "The Boll Weevils, the Beatals, The Arkansas Rollers - Now that's what I call music". The Daily Mail. 4 June 2009. Retrieved 11 June 2010.,
  17. Neer, Dan (1985). Mike on Mike , Atlantic Recording Corporation.
  18. "Who is Jonathan King?". The Guardian. 24 November 2000. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  19. Betts, Graham (2004). Complete UK Hit Singles 1952-2004 (1st ed.). London: Collins. p. 429. ISBN 0-00-717931-6.
  20. "King Forms U.K. Records". Billboard. 9 September 1972.
  21. "10CC". Snopes.com. citing {{cite book |title=Rock Names: From ABBA to ZZ Top |last=Dolgins |first=Adam |year=1998 |isbn=0806520469 |pages=254-255}
  22. ^ Roberts, David. British Hit Singles & Albums. Guinness World Records Limited, 19th edition, 2006, p. 302.
  23. ^ Ronson, Jon (1 December 2001). "The fall of a pop impresario". The Guardian.
  24. Munro, Eden (25 March 2009). "Gogmagog", Vue (Edmonton, Alberta). Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  25. "King's Tip Sheet to carry on". BBC News. London. 21 November 2001. Retrieved 31 December 20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  26. "Tip Sheet stays online as mag closes doors". 6 April 2002. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  27. Burrell, Ian (24 October 1997). "Ian Burrell reveals that Tony Blair is a secret fan of Jonathan King, the man who brought the world 'Una Paloma Blanca'". The Independent (London).
  28. "Victim's angry email led to downfall". The Guardian. 22 November 2001. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  29. "The shameful private life hidden behind flamboyant self-publicity". The Telegraph. 22 November 2001. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  30. "Jonathan King jailed for child sex abuse". The Guardian. 21 November 2001. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  31. Clough, Sue; O'Neill, Sean (22 November 2001). "Pop veteran Jonathan King given seven years for abusing schoolboys". The Daily Telegraph (London).
  32. ^ "Jonathan King: 'The only apology I have is to say that I was good at seduction'". The Independent On Sunday. 22 April 2012.
  33. "Jailed DJ King hits at 'unfair' legal system". The Telegraph. 21 November 2001.
  34. ^ Rayner, Gordon (25 January 2012). "Leveson inquiry: Jonathan King claims his was miscarriage of justice victim". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  35. "Convicted Sex Pervert Jonathan King Protests His Innocence". Sky News. 27 February 2008. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  36. Barber, Lynn (20 October 2002). "King and I". The Observer.
  37. "Jonathan King told to 'shut up'". BBC. 29 March 2005. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  38. "King abuse case 'to be reviewed". BBC News. 29 January 2006.
  39. "Jonathan King wins right to appeal to Europe over his convictions for sexual assaults on teenage boys". Daily Mail (London). 10 November 2007.
  40. "The great leveller". The Guardian. 26 February 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  41. "A newspaper, not a screws' paper". The Guardian. 7 May 2008. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  42. "BBC apology to Jonathan King after he is cut from repeat". The Daily Telegraph. London. 19 October 2011. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
  43. "Jonathan King writes". Inside Time Newspaper. Insidetime.org. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
  44. O'Carroll, Lisa. "Leveson inquiry: Jonathan King applies for 'core participant' status". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  45. Chalmers, Robert (22 April 2012). "Jonathan King: 'The only apology I have is to say that I was good at seduction'". The Independent on Sunday (London). Retrieved 10 November 2012.
  46. ^ "Jonathan King: 'My book's an online hit, millions click on my videos. How about lifting the media ban on me?'". The Independent. 28 November 2011.
  47. "Families' anger over Shipman song". BBC News. 12 July 2007.
  48. "Jonathan King makes Vile Pervert: The Musical". The Telegraph. 15 May 2008.
  49. Sharp, Rob (12 May 2011). "Cannes Diary: From disgraced D-listers to ex-drug dealing singers, festival embraces them all". The Independent (London).
  50. "64th Annual Cannes Film Festival The Tree of Live Photocall Pictures". Monsters and Critics. 18 May 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
  51. Wells, Dominic (2013 ). "Cannes Film Festival 2013: Marilyn Monroe, Lesbian Weddings, Nuns of the Future and Occupy Movement - Entertainment & Stars". ibtimes.co.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)

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